Club América is poised to claim its third straight Mexican Soccer League title after an impressive 2-1 victory in the first leg of the Liga MX Finals against the Rayados of Monterrey.
Monterrey was first to score, with an elegant shot from defender Sergio Canales. Club Ámerica defender Kevin Álvarez evened the score in minute 39. Then early in the second half, midfielder Alejandro Zendejas fired home the goal that won Ámerica the game.
The second leg of the final will be played in Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA Bancomer on Sunday night.
América’s pursuit of a third-consecutive championship appeared unlikely after Club América, known to fans as the Águilas, plodded through a disappointing regular season.
The team had to survive a wildcard match against Tijuana to claim the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, then trounced the No. 2 seed Toluca by a 4-0 aggregate score in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, the Águilas faced No. 1 seed Cruz Azul in the semifinals in a rematch of last season’s Finals and swept aside the Cementeros thanks to a late penalty kick in the second leg contest.
At Puebla’s Cuauhtémoc Stadium on Thursday, the Águilas put on a dominating display, outshooting Monterrey 13-6. If not for a magnificent performance from Rayados goalie Luis Cárdenas, América might have won 5-1. Cárdenas had three spectacular saves among his four stops, whereas his counterpart, Luis Malagón, saw only one shot on net all night.
Monterrey’s lone shot on target was a beauty that Malagón had no chance to stop. Canales gathered in a loose ball with his back to goal, spun quickly and unleashed a seeing-eye rocket from 28 meters that zipped into the upper left corner of the América goal.
The Rayados had little time to celebrate. América flowed forward on the left flank, as Álvaro Fidalgo found Víctor Dávila inside the box and Dávila let fly from a sharp angle. The Rayados goalie made a reflex save, but the ball bounded into the middle of the box, where two unmarked Águilas were lingering. Midfielder Zendejas swung and missed on his attempt, but the ball spun toward Águilas defender Álvarez on the back side, who blasted home the equalizer.
Just four minutes into the second half, Zendejas made up for his whiff. He collected a pass from Fidalgo and turned into the box to the right of Rayados goalie Cárdenas before ripping a low left-footer that nestled into the netting inside the far post.
El pase la recepción😤
Enorme conexión: Fidalgo➡️Zendejas
Para verlo una y mil veces.@ClubAmerica 2-1 @Rayados 🦅🆚🤠#NuestraFiesta. pic.twitter.com/93cn4uxSfS
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) December 13, 2024
Monterrey will have to win by two goals at home on Sunday to deny América an historic three-peat — no Liga MX team has won three consecutive titles since the league shifted to the short-season format in 1996. América only needs a draw to claim its third straight trophy.
The Rayados are 7-2-2 at home this season (including playoffs) while América has won three straight road games in these playoffs.
With reports from ESPN, El Universal and Record
